The Pokemon School - Darkness Rising
by danthered19
Summary: Follow the story of intrepid trainer, Dan Davis, as he enrolls at the Pokemon School of Kanto, makes enemies with the famous Ash Ketchum, whilst also attempting to pursue the love of his life. There are lessons to be learnt, battles to be fought, and not to mention the rising of Team Plasma - something that will make sure Dan's life will never be the same again...
1. The Pokemon School

School of Pokémon

The coach rolled slowly into the sunny forecourt, and with a screech of its worn brakes, it pulled to a stop. The doors opened and hundreds of students filed out, all in clashing clothes and many were talking in loud voices.

I was one of the people being shoved around in that crowd.

Hi, my name's Dan Davis – and I'm a rookie Pokémon trainer. I got my first Pokémon at the age of 7, and it was a Purloin, given to me as a surprise by my mum and dad. I remember that it didn't do that much, just sort of hung around the house and disappeared occasionally.

But we loved it for what it was, it battled with my younger brother many times, and their connection subsequently grew until a solid relationship; they seemed to be on the same wavelength and understood each other.

I won't lie, I was jealous of him. He was the smarter one, the cooler one, and lots of my own friends looked up to him. 'I wanna turn out like Edward!' was the classic line I was used to hearing every day.

So that's why I'm here, queuing up outside the vast doors to the Pokémon School in Kanto. My parents decided I should be sent away for a bit, so that one day I could become like Ed.

I begrudgingly accepted, so I hurriedly packed my bags and caught the earliest bus possible from Pallet Town to the Indigo Plateau, where the school was situated.

And so here I am. All 5'11 of me. I wouldn't consider myself attractive; I've never had a proper girlfriend before, so I just didn't think that I'd end up with anybody.

But still, things can change, and where better than here? The world famous Pokémon School.

I made my way slowly up the marble steps, still in line with the seemingly endless amount of students all doing the same thing that I was: waiting to be accepted, and then assigned a dormitory.

Finally, after what seemed like a long hour of waiting, I found myself at the check-in desk, where a kind woman was sat. Her legs were crossed, and her brow was deeply furrowed in thought – her mind was obviously elsewhere.

"Hello, would you like to sign the form so I can check you in?" she asked, her mouth turned upwards into a sweet smile.

"Sure thing." I murmured, taken aback by the smoothness that everything was running like. Students were being churned through the system within a matter of seconds and directed to their dormitories.

I hurriedly scribbled down my signature, signed the date and looked back up at the woman.

"Do you currently have any Pokémon, sir?" she asked me.

I felt my heart drop just a bit.

"No, not at the moment." I replied, clearly downcast. I just hoped that my disappointment didn't show too much to the kind receptionist.

Unfortunately, it seemed she did.

"Not to worry, sir." She replied, her smile lifting a bit more; which encouraged me just a little bit. "The Pokémon Professor will be asking for consultations with each student, so I'm sure he can help you out when it's your turn."

I smiled, now feeling happier.

"Thanks very much."

She nodded.

"Not to worry."

And with that, I ambled off towards a large crowd of people, hoping to find some sort of direction to get to my dormitory.

But instead, I found something entirely different.

I heard lots of bangs and squeals emanating from inside a large circle of people, so using my shoulder, I forced my way through and saw two teenagers, looking a tiny bit older than me, embroiled in a fierce Pokémon battle, judging by the look of anguish on one of them, and the smug grin plastered over the face of the other.

"Come on Ash!" someone shouted from the back of the crowd, directing his encouragement to the teenager who was smiling to himself. He had a red cap pulled sharply so that it cast a menacing shadow over his eyes, leaving erratic spikes of hair protruding from the back.

Standing at Ash's feet was a small yellow Pokémon, immediately recognisable as Pikachu. Its lightning shaped tail seemed to crackling with pure energy and its small black eyes were fixated on its opponent.

The other teenager was sweating heavily; thick globules seemed to cascade down his face. I immediately felt sorry for him, he was stood there, being jeered at by the large crowd as he slowly mulled over his options, eyes darting nervously from side to side.

Stood resolutely at his feet, looking like it was going to topple over at any moment was a Pidgey. A small, defenceless and exhausted Pidgey. It was evident that he had plunged into the deep end and was now struggling to retain his dignity while trying not to lose his Pokémon.

"Okay…" he mumbled, looking upwards. "Let's do this, Pidgey."

The bird Pokémon struggled to pull itself to its full height, and its feathers were ruffled all over the place.

"Pidgey, use tackle!" he shouted.

The Pidgey swooped forward, but as soon as it left the ground in a feeble swoop, I knew instantaneously what was about to happen.

"Pikachu, counter with Thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" the electric type shouted, as it flicked its tail nonchalantly. The bolt struck the Pidgey square in its midriff, and the bird Pokémon toppled to its feet, panting heavily.

And that's when I had decided.

I stepped forward into the battle ring, and nudged the poor trainer out of the way. His Pidgey turned around to look curiously at me, and it pulled itself up and tottered over to me.

"Okay…this is the game plan…"

After a few moments of conferring, the Pidgey turned back around to face the Pikachu.

Ash just pulled his cap down further over his eyes, but not enough to mask the intolerable grin that had formed on his young, typical teenage face.

"You know you don't have a chance…" he drawled.

I just scoffed. "Bring it."

I looked down at the Pidgey. It didn't even belong to me, but I felt like I had to prove myself to people so early on. It was an impulse thing, and something I still don't regret to this day.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted, the grin never faltering as he spat the words out.

"Pidgey, get close!" I shouted.

The bird Pokemon bravely sprang forward, and positioned itself over the head of the unsuspecting Pikachu. And that was when Ash realised.

"No!" he shouted, but the exclamation had barely left his mouth before the bolt seemed to shatter the sky, and came crashing down.

But not onto Pidgey.

Like I had told it, it had swooped swiftly out of the way, and the attack had slammed into the Pikachu, catapulting it across the hall, and charring its bright yellow skin.

"Shit…" Ash murmured to himself, throwing a dirty glance at me before heading off in the direction his defeated electric-type had fallen. The crowd eventually started to break up, some of the people clapping me on the back as they walked past.

I felt happier than I had done in a long time. But I knew that what I had done wouldn't go unpunished. Ash seemed to be one of the most popular guys in school, and he had only just joined!

It seemed like I had just got myself until trouble which could've been avoided by simply staying away and leaving the hall. But the temptation had been too great…

But I was brought back out of my stupor by a person nudging me with their elbow.

Stood in front of me, dozens of workbooks crammed against their chest, was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. She had flowing blonde hair that fell a long way past her shoulders, and a face which was the embodiment of heaven. Thin, dark eyebrows formed a concerned line above two sparkling blue eyes, which led to a small, rounded nose. Below that was a small, but equally perfect mouth, which was curled into a surprise smile.

"You were really good just then." She announced.

I smiled, but could feel myself getting redder by the second.

"Thanks, but, it really was nothing. I didn't mean to cause any trouble or anything…"

She laughed, a cute giggle that seemed to emanate from the very top of her throat, a noise that seemed to make my insides squirm in delight.

"You definitely didn't!" she exclaimed, still smiling. _Please, God, don't let her see how embarrassed I am…_ "In fact, I reckon you probably gained yourself a few friends already."

I smiled again, thinking of words to say – but nothing came out; I found it almost physically impossible to get anything out.

"Including me…" she added, her smile now turning slightly mischievous. "Anyway, I'd better go now, so I guess I'll see you around then?"

I nodded.

"Sure!" I stuttered, my heart pounding so hard against my ribs it felt like they would give way at any moment. "See you around."

She gave a final smile, before biting her lip, almost nervously, and leaving the hall, leaving me seeing nothing but the seductive swing of her hips under her pleated skirt.

Well…to sum up my first day…I had already made myself enemies with the school's most popular trainer, but had won a battle which was seemingly the biggest mismatch of all time.

Oh, and I may have just fallen in love.

Perhaps things weren't too bad after all…


	2. Friends and enemies

Shaking my head to rid myself of adventurous thoughts, I collected myself and hurried forward in the direction of where the girl had gone.

_I don't even know her name…_ I pondered, as I took a glance out of the two wooden doors that led into a large courtyard.

Inside it was a large cobbled area, with small patches of browning grass protruding out from the paved stones. The sun hung in the sky, at its highest, and its beams seemed to reach down and purposefully blind me, so I was forced to squint.

My heart rate began to increase, and I swallowed nervously.

_Where did she go?_

But there she was, striding past a fountain that was situated in the middle of the courtyard. The sun caught the colour of her hair perfectly, as it resonated in all its beauty. But with a lurch of jealousy, I noticed other trainers who were lingering around turning their head to watch her as she walked, her pleated skirt swaying slightly in the light breeze.

"She's quite a looker, isn't she?" a voice said, coming from behind me.

I spun around, my hand instinctively reaching down to my utility belt where usually my trusty Poke Balls would be.

The voice had originated from Ash. He wasn't squinting; his cap was pulled down over his eyes, as was his custom, so he was protected from the harsh gaze coming down from the sky. But I could see a wry smile creasing his pale face.

"Definitely," I replied cautiously. "Why?"

The trainer just looked at me and his smile increased.

"Well…if you're talking about her name, I don't think it will matter if I tell you that I don't know any more than you do. But," he added, obviously for special effect. "She is definitely going to be my next girlfriend…"

And with a small, casual lift of a finger to the brim of his cap – a strange, mocking form of salute, he brushed past me, nudging me slightly out of the way, and set a large stride after her. The beautiful girl – the one who no one seemed to know much about.

I decided to leave and try and find my dorm, but as I did, I couldn't help but think about what Ash had just told me.

_My NEXT girlfriend…_the use of the word 'next' couldn't help but cause a strong upsurge of hatred.

I joined a large queue, and after reaching finally reaching the end, I was met by a kind old man, with a greying beard, flecked with streaks of black.

"Good afternoon young man," the man said; and with a glance at my watch, I saw that he was correct, it was one o' clock. "I assume you'll be asking about your dorm?"

I nodded.

He reached for something under the desk he was positioned behind and placed a large stack of keys onto the table. I noticed that some were in the shape of recognisable Pokémon: Pidgey, Pichu, Riolu and Gastly were just some of many. I looked enquiringly back up at the man, who had a look of amusement creased over his aging features.

"There are also three special dorms named after some ancient Pokémon, thought to be the creators of this land. Lugia, Ho-Oh and Moltres are the names of these – however, they can only be accessed by older people who have already won some Gym Badges during the Pokémon League. So…

"It seems that you will have to choose one of the other ones. What is your choice?"

I looked hard at the Pokémon shaped keys, and eventually settled for one.

"I'll go for the Riolu dorm please."

The man smiled and handed me over a key.

"You'll be in room 216, so an elevator will be available to get you there when you enter Riolu building."

I ran the key through my fingers, feeling the cold metal. It allowed me to distract myself away from Ash and his pursuit over the girl who, I realised, I hadn't stopped thinking about since I had first seen her.

"Do you need help finding your way there?" he asked, motioning to two resolute looking men stood at either side of him.

Not liking the look of the grimaces on their cleanly shaven faces, I politely declined and moved off; detaching myself from the queue that had formed behind me, before entering the main lobby again.

Above me, hanging from the ceiling, was a large sign that read out the names of the Dorms, and had a helpful arrow pointing towards the direction of the staircase the respective pupils would have to take. Looking for the right arrow to take for the Riolu dorm, I ascended the stairs, and found myself walking along a corridor, painted with many figures of the Pokémon Riolu and its eventual evolution, Lucario.

Finding room 216, I let myself in and found myself stood right in front of the girl I had seen not five minutes before.

I smiled nervously, closing the door behind me.

"I guess you chose Riolu dorm too, then?" she asked.

I nodded, suddenly finding myself unable to form cohesive words again.

She smiled knowingly, and brushed past me. I caught the faintest hint of her body spray as she did so.

"Well, come here and meet Max." she said.

I followed her without question; her voice just seemed to make me melt before her eyes.

Inside a side room, one of the three bedrooms that were situated inside 216, was a boy. He looked to be my age, with short black hair with unusual red tints. He was wearing a black jumper, with a Chinese dragon on it, and fading blue jeans which seemed to contain an innumerable amount of pockets.

"Hey," he said, reaching over to shake my hand briskly. His grip was firm, as though he was looking to make an impression. "Nice to meet you."

I smiled at him genuinely. "And you." I had a good feeling that we were going to get on very well.

The girl came over to me, and stood at my side. She had a curious smile on her face.

"And I'm Gaia," she announced. "Looks like we're all stuck with each other for the next couple of years!"

I laughed, hoping to sound as manly, and humane, as possible. Max just seemed more fluid, however, as he made a non-committal noise, and walked past us into the living room. Inside it was a large sofa, two large chairs, a metallic coffee table with lots of Pokémon magazines stacked up on them, and a huge plasma TV which took up one whole length of the room.

He sat down heavily on the sofa, picked up a remote and flicked it nonchalantly. The TV burst into life, tuned into the Pokémon League channel. A fierce battle between a Typhlosion and a Tyrantrum was taking place.

"I reckon the Typhlosion will win…" Gaia giggled. She too took a seat next to Max. Feeling another spurt of jealously, I followed suit and cast a wary glance over my two roommates, while seeing the Tyrantrum rear up dangerously on the screen.


End file.
